Safety seat for the conveyance of babies and very small children in vehicles

ABSTRACT

A safety seat for the conveyance of babies and small children in vehicles, including a holder frame, a seat shell swivelably on the holder frame for pivotal movement about a swivel axis and so as to define an area of overlap between a bottom of the seat shell and the holder frame, and structure for locking the seat in a plurality of angular positions relative to the holder frame, this structure including a locking catch in the area of overlap between the bottom and the holder frame, and being spaced far distant from the swivel axis. The locking catch includes a locking member manually retractably shiftable into locking engagement with the holder frame when the seat frame is in any one of the angular positions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a safety seat for the conveyance of babies andvery small children.

So-called safety car seats for very small children are available on themarket in conventional versions. As a rule, they have an upholsteredseat shell, which can be swiveled and locked in a holder frame in aplurality of pivoted positions between an upright sitting position and ahorizontal lying position. A swivel bearing is located in each of thetwo side portions of the seat shell, and a pushbutton-actuated lockingcatch is integrated with the swivel bearing. As a result, between thepivot point and the locking member only a very short lever arm is everavailable for effecting the locking action.

The conventional safety seats, in order to be secured, have a U-shapedopening in both armrests. The lap portion of an automatic lap andshoulder safety belt, or a lap belt, can be drawn under fixed bracketslocated in both armrests. Guiding the belt in this way has thedisadvantage that the safety seat can be fixed securely in only onedirection, for instance in the direction opposite the direction oftravel.

Since in order to adjust the inclination of the seat both lockingcatches must be released simultaneously by actuating a pushbutton, twohands must always be used to operate it. In addition, adjustments oncethe seat is in the installed position can be made only with difficulty,because either the foot or head end of the seat shell rests against thevehicle upholstery. Adjustment is made still more difficult by the factthat easy swiveling of the seat is hindered by the spatial distance, andhence by the effective lever arm, between the pivot point and thelocation of the belt guides.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the present invention to devise a safety seat forthe conveyance of babies and very small children in vehicles, which isequipped with particular safety features for traveling and additionallyis very easy to operate.

This object is attained by means of the novel characteristic of theinvention wherein the safety seat includes a holder frame, a seat shellswivelably supported in the holder frame for rotation about a swivelaxis, so as to define an area of overlap between a bottom of the shelland the holder frame, and so as to be lockable in various swiveledpositions relative to the holder frame, and at least one belt guide forreceiving an automatic lap and shoulder belt or lap belt, there beingprovided a locking catch located far distant from the swivel bearing soas to obtain a long lever arm on the part of the locking action in saidoverlap area, the locking catch including a manually operable lockingmember which is shiftable toward the holding frame and can be broughtinto engagement with the holding frame. Since the locking catch isdisposed in a region of the outside of the seat shell located fardistant from the swivel bearing, between the holder frame and seat shellin the area of overlap between them, the lever arm between the pivotbearing and the locking catch is very long, in contrast to conventionalseats. The forces prevailing at the locking catch in the event of apossible collision are accordingly less, and breakage of the lockingmember and an attendant centrifugal motion of the seat, in which strongforces of acceleration act upon the baby, are thereby avoided. Thus asingle locking catch is entirely sufficient, and this makes it possibleto adjust the inclination using only one hand.

According to another novel characteristic of the invention, wherein theseat shell is approximately V-shaped in longitudinal cross-section andhas V-like legs substantially at right angles to one another to form abackrest and legrest, and the locking catch is disposed substantiallycentrally outside of the shell bottom encompassing the area of the seatof an occupant of the safety seat, in a rounded transistional zonebetween the backrest and the legrest, the locking catch is disposedvirtually at the vertex between the V-like shanks of the backrest andlegrest. A lever arm of maximum length is thereby assured. An overallbalance of forces is attained in the vicinity of the locking catch.

According to other novel characteristics of the invention, wherein theholder frame has a lock abutment located opposite the locking catch andhas detent recesses, corresponding to the desired swivel positions, forthe locking member, and the detent recesses in the lock abutment aredisposed on a circular arc extending about the swivel axis and have aradius approximately corresponding to the distance between the lockingmember and the swivel bearing, it is assured that the forces operativebetween the locking member and detent recesses do not differconsiderably from one another at the various swiveling positions. Thisis an advantage from the standpoint of designing the structure of thelocking member and the lock abutment.

By means of the lever constructions of the invention, wherein thelocking catch has a detent lever on which the locking member is located,the detent lever being actuatable by means of at least one releaselever, the locking catch becomes very easy to operate. The ease ofoperation is further increased by the feature wherein a release lever isdisposed on the foot and/or head of the seat shell, because the releaselever attached to the foot and/or head end of the seat shell is easilyreachable on account of its exposed position.

The following novel characteristics of the invention define aparticularly advantageous mode of construction for the locking catch andits actuation. The locking catch is releasable by means of the detentlever and the detent lever is actuatable by means of a pulling means(actuating rod). The locking member can be disengaged by being pulledout of detent recesses provided on the lock abutment of the holdingframe. The release lever has a single-armed lever, is swivelablyarticulated on the head end and/or foot end of the seat shell outsidethereof and has a pivot bearing for receiving the actuating rod. Onerelease lever each is attached to the head end and the foot end of theseat shell at the outside thereof. Two actuating rods are rotatablysecured each with one end on a respective release lever. The detentlever is embodied as a double-armed lever, the arms of which eachinclude an oblong slot for longitudinally guided reception of bent endsof the actuating rods, these bent ends being remote from the releaselevers, as a result of which detent lever can be pulled taut foreffecting unlocking by means of an actuating rod, but cannot be pushedaway. Taking all the advantages together, the locking catch operatessmoothly and can be operated with one hand from either end of the seat.The release levers are easily accessible because of their spatialarrangement, and it is particularly advantageous that releasing thelocking catch can be done by actuating merely one of the two releaselevers. The seat shell can thus be adjusted from either the foot or thehead end, thereby avoiding awkward operation. Despite the ease ofoperation described, the construction has a high degree of stability,and hence safety, in use.

Because of the runner-type structure of the holder frame of theinvention, wherein the holder frame includes two support runnersextending in the longitudinal direction of the seat shell, which arelocated beside the seat shell and are joined to one another by means ofa crosspiece, a torsion-proof, stable mounting of the seat shell isattained. Because the crosspiece and straight spars are in the sameplane the support runners each being a combination of one straight sparand one upwardly extending curved spar formed in one piece, wherein thestraight spars engage the plane on which the holder frame stands, atleast one crosspiece being disposed in the plane on which the holderframe stands, the holder frame of the safety seat has a large contactsurface. Thus, when it is used for example in a motor vehicle, theholder frame does not press as far into the upholstery and thus treatsit gently, avoiding damage. At the same time, these crosspieces, betweenwhich the lock abutment having the detent recesses is securedapproximately centrally in the longitudinal direction of the holderframe, serve as supports for the lock abutment.

By means of another novel characteristic of the invention, wherein theunderside of the lock abutment is disposed in the same plane as thecrosspieces and the straight spars of the support runners a particularlystable, torsion-proof construction of the holder frame and asimultaneously larger contact surface are attained.

It should be noted at this point that the support runners describedherein can serve as elements that connect to various supporting frames.Multifunctional applications of the safety seat thereby become possible;for instance, it can serve as an attachment mounted on a carriage frame,thereby becoming a baby carriage or stroller. It is also conceivable asa seat on a high supporting frame, so that for instance it can be usedas a baby's highchair for placement at the dining table.

By means of another novel characteristic of the invention, wherein theends of the runners of the holder frame protrude, in every swiveledposition of the seat shell, beyond the outlined surface projected intothe plane on which the holder frame stands, a further advantage in useis attained. For example, the safety seat can be additionally fixed onthe back seat of an automobile by clamping the base runners in placebetween the seatback and the backrest of the front seat, without havingto give up the swivelability of the seat shell.

Safety seats of the invention, wherein the opposed ends of the straightspars are joined to one another by means of further crosspieces and atleast one opposed pair of straight spar ends is bent downwardly orupwardly at an obtuse angle to the plane on which the seat stands, havethe advantage that in an accident an additional lever arm becomesoperative because of the bent pairs of straight spar ends; this leverarm and the upholstery together are capable of absorbing energy.

The protection provided by the safety seat in the event of an accidentis still further improved by embodying the subject of the invention suchthat the opposed ends of the straight spars, preferably located towardthe foot end of the seat shell, are joined together by means of acrosspiece which, extending outside the plane on which the seat stands,preferably in a vertical curve, forms an impact surface, the highestpoint on the crosspiece with respect to the plane on which the seatstands are located higher than the swivel bearing of the seat shell, andthe crosspiece is formed in either stirrup-like or platform-likefashion. The upwardly extended crosspiece for joining the opposed endsof the straight spars creates an impact surface which during travelrests against the backrest of an automobile seat. In a rear-endcollision, the entire seat construction is supported via this impactsurface, which on the one hand assures that the seat will securelyremain in position, while on the other kinetic energy can be absorbed bymeans of an intentional deformation of this crosspiece in a mannersimilar to that in the energy-absorbing or deformable zone of a car. Thecrosspiece as a whole thus is no longer linear but instead issubstantially curved into a semicircular shape. A particularly stableconstruction is created by providing that an approximately semicircularplate serves as the crosspiece.

By means of the variously disposed belt guides, universal utility of thesafety seat is attained. The seat can be secured in the vehicle facingeither forward or backward in terms of the direction of travel, orcrosswise thereto, by means of the existing seat belt in the vehicle.These various possibilities are shown in exemplary embodiments for thesake of better comprehension. These various possibilities can also berealized in safety seats that do not necessarily include thecharacteristics described above.

Another novel characteristic of the invention, the belt guides, beingsecured to each of the curved spars of the support runners, extendingupward at a right angle substantially to the same position as the swivelbearing, assures that no torque is exerted upon the seat shell by thevehicle seat belt when the safety seat is being fixed in position. Theease of adjustment of the safety seat is not impaired. According toanother characteristic in which the belt guide has approximately theform of a rectangular tube, the outside of which is substantiallycentrally slit continuously in the longitudinal direction of the tube,the belt guides are embodied in such a way that in contrast to theguides on conventional seats they can provide guidance in twodirections. For the best guidance, it is advantageous for the guide tobe embodied as a rectangular tube. For the belt guides at the ends ofthe support runners, however (see FIG. 7), it is also conceivable to useonly a thick, flat metal wire, bent at right angles with its two endslocated spaced apart from and facing one another.

A particularly advantageous further development of the subject of theinvention is attained by combining novel characteristics of having atleast one opposed pair of straight spar ends bent downward or upward atan obtuse angle to the plane on which the seat stands and cumulativelyor alternatively securing additional belt guides in the vicinity of therunner ends, in particular, to the curved spars or straight spars. Abelt guide is attached to the top of each of two opposed straight sparends, which are bent upward forming an obtuse angle with the plane onwhich the seat stands. As a result, additional fixation points for theholder frame are obtained by placing the lap and shoulder belt incontact with both tubes. Bending the ends of the straight spars andthereby raising the belt guide position assures that the contact pointsof the lap and shoulder belt on the holder frame are always locatedhigher than the belt buckle of the seat. This contributes to simple beltguidance and secure fastening of the seat. A high degree of convenienceof operation is attained by embodying the belt guides by providing thebelt guide approximately in the form of a rectangular tube, the outwardside of which is substantially centrally slit continuously in thelongitudinal direction of the tube.

The simple belt guide brackets having one or more stirrup-like beltguides, open at one end in such a manner that the belt can be insertedfrom the open end, substantially vertically disposed with the open endat the top, disposed on the outside of the seat shell on the head endand/or the foot end, are intended for when the safety seat is usedfacing backward from the direction of travel. Because of the specialembodiment of these brackets, with an open end facing upward, it is easyto feed the safety belt into the guide brackets. Nevertheless, the beltis held securely in the event of an accident, because the open end ofthe belt guides is located pointing upward, while contrarily the forcesexerted upon the belt guides if the car strikes an obstacle are exerteddownward.

By an alternative belt course effected via the belt guides disposed inthe head and foot portion of the seat (see FIG. 7), the baby can beremoved from the seat more quickly in an emergency, because the lap andshoulder belt of the car passes only around the seat shell, rather thanover it. All that needs to be done is to release the retaining device(belt, impact surface, retainer netting) of the seat itself.

According to another novel characteristic of the invention, wherein theseat shell has upwardly extending side walls such that the rim of theseat shell is located approximately in one plane, so that a particularlyhigh degree of protection of the baby is attained. The upholsteredcushion extending continuously around the seat still further reduces therisk of injury in the event of an accident.

Another novel characteristic of the invention, wherein in each of thetwo side walls of the seat shell, in the head and foot regions, tworeceiving slits for two carrying straps are provided, which in theactive position extend over the open side of the seat shell, the ends ofwhich are secured in the respective receiving slits located transverselyopposite one another, makes the safety seat particularly easy to liftand carry. So that the carrying straps will not present any problemsduring use, for instance in a car, they can be pulled across and overthe rim of the seat shell to the outside thereof. There, they resttautly on the outside.

Other novel characteristics of the invention, wherein a safety retainingdevice, for retaining the baby or very small child, includes an impactplate secured to the belt straps, a retaining netting which can besecured directly to the seat shell or a bag in which the body sits,surrounding the area of the baby's body remote from the chest, relate toparticularly reliable and practical devices for safely buckling in orretaining a baby. An impact plate or retaining netting considerablyreduces the pressure forces exerted upon the body in an accident. A seatbag or pouch used as a safety retaining device also has the practicaladvantage that it not only provides protection in an accident but alsoaffords protection from the cold, which is particularly important for ababy.

In summary, the description shows that the safety seat according to theinvention for conveying babies and very small children in vehicles hasmany advantages over seats of the conventional type. It can be fixeduniversally in place, facing in the direction of travel or facingbackward or sideways, by means of the appropriate belt guides. Its seatshell can be adjusted simply, smoothly and with one hand using theexternally located release lever. The safety seat is always movable,because of the support runners that extend far to the outside. Becausethe locking catch is located far from the swivel axis, particularlyfavorable lever ratios are attained for locking purposes, and as aresult the seat is particularly well able to absorb the forces occurringin an accident. A substantial increase in safety as compared withconventional seats is thereby attained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in greater detail in terms of anexemplary embodiment, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.Shown are:

FIG. 1, a perspective side view of a safety seat;

FIG. 2, a side view analogous to FIG. 1 having bent pairs of straightspar ends on the support runners;

FIG. 3, a detail in longitudinal section taken through a safety seat inorder to show the assembly comprising the release lever, actuating rodand locking catch;

FIG. 4, a detail in longitudinal section taken through the locking catchand the locking abutment;

FIG. 5, a schematic perspective side view of a safety seat schematicallyshowing the course of the belt for various installed positions;

FIG. 6, a schematic side view of a safety seat having an impact surfaceaccording to claim 18 (installed position facing backward from thedirection of travel; the belt is not shown here, for the sake ofsimplicity);

FIG. 7, a plan view on a safety seat in the direction of the arrow VIIof FIG. 6, illustrating the course of the belt with belt guides inaccordance with claims 26-29; and

FIG. 8, a perspective side view of a safety seat in the installedposition, analogous to FIG. 7 (but without belt guides 5 on the straightspars).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIG. 1, the safety seat comprises a seat shell 1, which isswivelably supported in a holder frame 2. The swivel bearing 3 islocated where it is not visible, underneath the upholstered rim 4extending continously around the seat. The belt guide 5 is attached invirtually the same position as the swivel bearing 3, and the lap portionof a safety belt which is a lap and shoulder belt, or a lap belt 7, canbe introduced through the slit 6 of the belt guide 5. In thetransitional zone between the legrest 8 and the backrest 9, the lockingcatch 11 is disposed on the outside of the seat shell bottom 10.

The holder frame 2 comprises two support runners 12, which are acombination of the curved spar 13 and the straight spar 14. The twostraight spars 14 are joined by crosspieces 15, between which the lockabutment 16 is located. As the drawing shows, the undersides of thestraight spars 14, crosspieces 15 and lock abutment 16 are located inthe same plane.

To actuate the locking catch, the two single-armed release levers 19 arearticulatedly attached to the head end 17 and foot end 18 of the seat.The release levers 19 are each connected to the detent lever 20 of thelocking catch 11 via respective actuating rods 21, which extendunderneath the coverings 22.

The exact construction is shown in FIG. 3. The release lever 19articulatedly connected to the head end 17 of the seat shell includes apivot bearing 23 for receiving the actuating rod 21. This rod extendssubstantially parallel to the outside of the backrest 9 of the seatshell 1, down to the detent lever 20. The locking member 24 is attachedto this lever and can be disengaged from the detent recess 25 in thelock abutment 16 by pulling the release lever upward. The secondactuating rod 21 is disposed similarly to the first actuating rod 21 butin the opposite direction, being joined to the release lever 19 at thefoot end 18 of the seat shell. As shown particularly clearly in FIG. 4,the two actuating rods 21 terminate in respective oblong slots 26; bothrod ends, in the detent position of the locking member, rest on the endsof the oblong slots pointing toward the respective release lever 19. Ifone release lever is pulled, the detent lever 20 is rotated, whereuponthe end of the other actuating rod 21 can shift in the oblong slot 26.As a result, both actuating rods 21 and thus the release lever 19 areindependent of one another in their motion.

The detent recesses 25 for receiving the locking member 24 are locatedon the circular arc 27, which has approximately the radius of thedistance between the locking member 24 and the swivel bearing 3.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the safety seat with an alternative formof the support runner ends. These ends are bent downward or upward at anobtuse angle 41 and are joined to one another by means of furthercrosspieces 15.

In FIG. 5, various possible directions of the course of the belt areshown. By means of the alternatively or additionally attached beltguides 5, universal possibilities for installing the safety seat on avehicle seat are provided. One example is the belt course 28, where thesafety seat is installed with the baby facing in the direction oftravel. If the safety seat is to be installed crosswise to the directionof travel, then the belt guides 5 attached to the support runners 12 isused, and the belt 30 is guided as indicated by the belt course 29.Depending on the direction of installation, the shoulder portion of anautomatic lap and shoulder belt 30 is used to fix the seat shell inposition (belt course 29), or else the belt simply runs upward along thebackrest of a vehicle seat (belt course 28).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, receiving slits 32 for the ends of carryingstraps 33 are provided in the side walls 31 of the seat shell 1. In theinactive position of the carrying straps shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, thesestraps rest tautly on the outside wall of the seat shell 1. For use,they are pulled up and over the rim 4 and then pass over the open sideof the seat shell 1.

A particularly advantageous embodiment of the holder frame 2 in terms ofsafety is shown in FIG. 6 showing an exemplary installation of thesafety seat facing backward with respect to the direction of travel 34.For the sake of simplicity, the belt course was not shown here. Thepairs of straight spar ends toward the foot end are bent upward at anobtuse angle 41. The approximately rectangular belt guides 5 are securedto the top of these pairs. Differing from the belt guide located on theswivel bearing 3, these belt guides may be formed by bending a thickmetal wire, without any loss of safety. The crosspiece 15' for joiningthe two opposed straight spar ends is embodied such that it extendssubstantially vertically upward in an arc, out of the plane of thesupport runners 12. Its highest point with respect to the plane on whichthe seat stands is higher than the swivel bearing 3. This specializedshaping of the crosspiece 15' creates an impact surface 35, whichenables supporting of the entire holder frame 2 against the seat back36, for instance in the event of a rear-end collision. By means of apreviously calculated deformation of the crosspiece 15', kinetic energycan be absorbed, in a manner similar to that of the energy-absorbingdeformable zone of a motor vehicle. In detail, the crosspiece 15' may bestirrup-like, more or less like the curved spar 13, but the use of asemicircular impact surface makes for a particularly stableconstruction.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the manner in which the safety seat is retained inits installed position in practical use, with the aid of the automaticlap and shoulder safety belts. FIG. 7 corresponds to a plan view on thesafety seat according to the invention in the direction of the arrow VIIin FIG. 6. The stirrup-like belt guides 5' are secured to the head end17 or foot end 18 of the seat shell 1. For still better guidance, twobelt guides 5' are provided in the head region here. These belt guidesare disposed substantially vertically and are open at one end. The openend 37 is located at the top, and the belts can be inserted from thisdirection into the belt guides 5'. The course of the belt is as follows:From the belt roller 38, the lap and shoulder belt 30 is drawn throughthe two belt guides 5' located at the head end 17 of the seat shell 1.The lap portion 39 extends through the belt guide 5' located at the footend 18 of the seat shell 1 and the two belt guides 5 on the top of theupwardly bent ends of the straight spars 14. By locking the safety beltbuckle 40, the safety seat is held firmly on the seat of the car,particularly in the event of an accident. By means of the blockingmechanism of the lap and shoulder belt 30, the forces of accelerationacting in the direction of travel 34 are absorbed over the course of thebelt. The forces counter to the direction of travel that arise in theevent of a rear-end collision are transmitted via the holder frame 2substantially to the seat back 36 and thereby rendered ineffective.

In FIG. 7, it is also particularly clearly shown that because of theillustrated course of the belt, the belt does not pass over the baby atany point. As a result, the occupant of the seat can be removedparticularly quickly in an emergency. All that needs to be done is toopen the retaining device of the seat itself (in this drawing figure,this device is a belt). A long and complicated search for the beltbuckle 40 is unnecessary.

I claim:
 1. A safety seat for the conveyance of babies and very smallchildren in vehicles havinga holder frame (2), a seat shell (1)swivelably supported therein about a shaft located in its crosswisedirection and lockable in various swiveled positions relative to theholder frame (2), and at least one belt guide (5) for receiving anautomatic lap and shoulder belt (30) or lap belt, characterized in thatthe locking catch (11) for attaining a long lever arm on the part of thelocking action is disposed in a region, located far distant from theswivel bearing (3), of the seat shell outside that forms the bottom (10)of the seat shell (1), inside the overlapping area of the holder frame(2) and seat shell (1) and between them; and includes a manuallyoperable locking member (24), which is shiftable toward the holder frame(2) and can be brought into engagement with the holder frame (2).
 2. Asafety seat as defined by claim 1,characterized in that the seat shell(1) is approximately V-shaped in longitudinal section, having V-likelegs substantially at right angles to one another to form the backrestand legrest; and the locking catch (11) is disposed substantiallycentrally at the outside of the shell bottom (10) encompassing the areaof the seat of the occupant of the safety seat, in the roundedtransitional zone beetween the backrest area (9) and legrest area (8).3. A safety seat as defined by claim 1,characterized in that the holderframe (2) has a lock abutment (16) located opposite the locking catch(11) and having detent recesses (25), corresponding to the desiredswiveled positions, for the locking member (24).
 4. A safety seat asdefined by claim 3,characterized in that the detent recesses (25) in thelock abutment (16) are disposed on a circular arc (27) extending aboutthe swivel axis and having a radius approximately corresponding to thedistance between the locking member (24) and the swivel bearing (3). 5.A safety seat as defined by claim 1,characterized in that the lockingcatch (11) has a detent lever (20), on which the locking member (24) islocated.
 6. A safety seat as defined by claim 5,characterized in thatthe detent lever (20) is actuatable by means of at least one releaselever (19).
 7. A safety seat as defined by claim 6,characterized in thatone release lever each (19) is disposed on the foot end (18) and/or thehead end (17) of the seat shell (1).
 8. A safety seat as defined byclaim 6,characterized in that the locking catch (11) is releasable bymeans of the detent lever (20), which is actuatable by means of therelease lever (19) via a pulling means (actuating rod 21), wherein thelocking member can be disengaged by being moved out of the detentrecesses (25) disposed on the lock abutment (16) of the holder frame(2).
 9. A safety seat as defined by claim 8,characterized in that therelease lever (19), as a single-armed lever, is swivelably articulatedon the head end (17) and/or foot end (18) of the seat shell outside andhas a pivot bearing (23) for receiving the pulling means, in particularan actuating rod (21).
 10. A safety seat as defined by claim9,characterized in that one release lever (19) each is attached to thehead end (17) and foot end (18) of the seat shell outside; two actuatingrods (21) are rotatably secured each with one end on a respectiverelease lever (19); and the detent lever (20) is embodied as adouble-armed lever, the arms of which each include an oblong slot (26)for longitudinally guided reception of the bent ends, remote from therelease levers, of the two actuating rods (21), as a results of whichthe detent lever (20) can be pulled taut for effecting unlocking, bymeans of an actuating rod (21), but cannot be pushed away.
 11. A safetyseat as defined by claim 1,characterized in that the holder frame (2),in the longitudinal direction of the seat shell (1), includes twosupport runners (12) located beside the seat shell (1) and joined to oneanother by means of a crosspiece (15).
 12. A safety seat as defined byclaim 11,characterized in that the support runners (12) each are acombination of one straight spar (14) and one upwardly extending curvedspar (13), in particular being in one piece, wherein the straight spars(14) engage the plane on which the holder frame (2) stands; and at leastone crosspiece (15) is disposed in the same plane as the plane on whichthe holder frame stands.
 13. A safety seat as defined by claim12,characterized in that the lock abutment (16) having the detentrecesses (25) is secured between two crosspieces (15) approximatelycentrally in the longitudinal direction of the holder frame (2).
 14. Asafety seat as defined by claim 13,characterized in that the undersideof the lock abutment (16) is disposed in the same plane as thecrosspieces (15) and the straight spars (14) of the support runners(12).
 15. A safety seat as defined by claim 11,characterized in that theends of the runners of the holder frame (2), in every swiveled positionof the seat shell (1), protrude beyond the outlined surface projectedinto the plane on which the holder frame stands.
 16. A safety seat asdefined by claim 11,characterized in that the opposed ends of thestraight spars (14) are joined to one another by means of furthercrosspieces (15).
 17. A safety seat as defined by claim 16,characterizedin that at least one opposed pair of straight spar ends is bent downwardor upward at an obtuse angle to the plane on which the seat stands. 18.A safety seat as defined by claim 16,characterized in that the opposedends of the straight spars (14), preferably located toward the foot endof the seat shell, are joined together by means of a crosspiece (15')which, extending outside the plane on which the seat stands, preferablyin a vertical curve, forms an impact surface (35).
 19. A safety seat asdefined by claim 18,characterized in that the highest point on thecrosspiece (15') with respect to the plane on which the seat stands islocated higher than the swivel bearing (3) of the seat shell (1).
 20. Asafety seat as defined by claim 18,characterized in that the crosspiece(15') is embodied in stirrup-like fashion.
 21. A safety seat as definedby claim 18,characterized in that the crosspiece (15') is embodied inplatform-like fashion.
 22. A safety seat as defined by claim1,characterized in that the swivel bearing (3) is located in the regionbetween the rim (4) of the seat shell (1) and substantially the highestpoint on the curved spar (13).
 23. A safety seat in particular asdefined by claim 1,characterized in that a belt guide (5) is secured,extending upward at a right angle, substantially in the same position asthe swivel bearing (3), to each of the curved spars (13) of the supportrunners (12).
 24. A safety seat as defined by claim 23,characterized inthat the belt guide (5) has approximately the form of a rectangulartube, the outward side of which is substantially centrally slitcontinuously in the longitudinal direction of the tube.
 25. A safetyseat as defined by claim 23,characterized in that cumulatively oralternatively, additional belt guides (5) are secured in the vicinity ofthe runner ends, in particular to the curved spars (13) or straightspars (14).
 26. A safety seat as defined by claim 1,characterized inthat one or more belt guides (5') are disposed on the seat shelloutside, on the head end (17) and/or foot end (18) of the seat shell(1).
 27. A safety seat as defined by claim 26,characterized in that thebelt guides (5') are embodied in stirrup-like fashion.
 28. A safety seatas defined by claim 27,characterized in that the stirrup-like beltguides (5') are open at one end, in such a manner that the belt can beinserted from the open end (37).
 29. A safety seat as defined by claim28,characterized in that the belt guides (5') are substantiallyvertically disposed and the open end (37) in each case is at the top.30. A safety seat as defined by claim 1,characterized in that because ofthe upwardly extended side walls (31) of the seat shell (1), the rim (4)is embodied such that it is located approximately in one plane.
 31. Asafety seat as defined by claim 30,characterized in that the rim (4) isembodied as an upholstered cushion extending continuously around theseat.
 32. A safety seat as defined by claim 1,characterized in that ineach of the two side walls (31) of the seat shell (1), in the head andfoot regions, two receiving slits (32) for two carrying straps (33) areprovided, which in the active position extend over the open side of theseat shell and the ends of which are secured in the respective receivingslits (32) located transversely opposite one another.
 33. A safety seatas defined by claim 32,characterized in that the carrying straps (33)are made entirely or in part of an elastic material; and by being pulledover the rim (4) can be brought into an inactive position, in which theyextend resting in a taut condition on the outside of the seat shell (1).34. A safety seat as defined by claim 1,characterized in that a safetyretaining device for the baby or very small child includes an impactplate secured with belt straps.
 35. A safety seat as defined by claim1,characterized in that the safety retaining device includes a retainingnetting, which can be secured directly to the seat shell.
 36. A safetyseat as defined by claim 1,characterized in that the safety retainingdevice is embodied as a bag in which the baby sits, surrounding the areaof the baby's body remote from the chest.
 37. A safety seat for theconveyance of babies and small children in vehicles, comprising:a holderframe; a seat shell having a bottom and including a legrest and abackrest, said seat shell being swivelably supported on said holderframe for pivotable movement about a swivel axis and so as to define anarea of overlap between said bottom and said holder frame; and means forlocking said seat shell in a plurality of angular positions relative tosaid holder frame, said means including a locking catch disposed in saidarea of said overlap and spaced far distant from said swivel axis, saidlocking catch including a locking member carried by said seat shellmanually retractably shiftable into locking engagement with said holderframe when said seat shell is in any one of said angular positions. 38.A safety seat as in claim 37, further comprising a swivel bearingmounted to said holder frame along said swivel axis, said seat shellbeing pivotably mounted to said holder frame by said swivel bearing. 39.A safety seat as in claim 37, further comprising at least one belt guideon at least one of said holder frame and said seat shell for receivingan automatic safety belt.
 40. A safety seat as in claim 39, wherein saidautomatic safety belt is an automatic lap belt.
 41. A safety seat as inclaim 39, wherein said automatic safety belt is an automatic lap andshoulder belt.
 42. A safety seat as in claim 37, wherein said seat shellis located above said holder frame and said swivel axis is located abovesaid locking member.